Today in Soap Opera History (September 5)

"That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach."
― Aldous Huxley

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1960: On SEARCH FOR TOMORROW, after talking things over with Joanne (Mary Stuart), Alison (Anne Pearson) endured an uncomfortable evening with her in-laws, the Metcalfs, who came over for dinner.

1967: CBS broadcast THE EDGE OF NIGHT in color for the first time.

1967: Marcella Martin aired for the final time as Flo Murray on ANOTHER WORLD. Flo had killed Danny Fargo. Ralph Oliver also aired for the last time that day as Charlie Rushinberger.

1989: On AS THE WORLD TURNS, Paul (Andrew Kavovit) walked in on James (Anthony Hererra) attacking Emily (Melanie Smith) and shot him three times.

1989: On GUIDING LIGHT, Phillip (Grant Aleksander) told Lillian (Tina Sloan) he thought Beth could still be alive but she angrily refused to believe it.

1990: On THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, Traci (Beth Maitland) returned home.

1992: Irving Allen Lee (Calvin Stoner, THE EDGE OF NIGHT; Evan Cooper, RYAN'S HOPE) passed away at age 43. He died of AIDS-related lymphoma, according to his companion, John Uehlein.

1994: Marie-Alise Recasner debuted as Lynn Burke in DAYS OF OUR LIVES.

1996: DALLAS executive producer Leonard Katzman died at age 69.

2002: MTV aired the final episode of UNDRESSED.

2006: MyNetworkTV, an upstart network launched by News Corporation, launched two with nightly serials. After the moderate success of DESIRE and FASHION HOUSE, ratings began to decline. The second pair of soaps, WICKED WICKED GAMES and WATCH OVER ME had decent ratings but not as successful as the debut telenovelas. By the time the third batch, AMERICAN HEIRESS and SAINTS AND SINNERS, were shown, the ratings were disastrous and the format was phased out.

2008: On GENERAL HOSPITAL, Robin (Kimberly McCullough) asked her friends at the hospital to stop talking about Patrick's (Jason Thompson) proposal. Later, Robin thought she was having a contraction.

ATWT episode = so fantastic! I have only watched the first few minutes, but will definitely watch the entire hour when I get the chance. I remember this vividly from when it first aired. Wonderful memories of ATWT at its finest. Thank you, Douglas Marland!